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2030 UK petrol and diesel car ban: will it be delayed?

September 8, 2023Buying a new car, Electric Cars, News, Reviews and Comment, Sales, ZOE, ZOE E-SportRepost

From 2030 drivers won’t be able to buy new cars powered solely by petrol or diesel, but what does this mean for you and could the ban be delayed?…

Under current Government plans, the sale of new cars powered solely by petrol and diesel will be banned from 2030. The move, announced in 2020, is intended to encourage more drivers to choose electric cars, and reduce emissions from vehicles across the UK.

Hybrid cars which can travel ‘significant’ distances on electric power alone will remain on sale until 2035, when it is expected that they too will be banned in favour of fully electric cars. The Government has yet to define what qualifies as ‘significant’.

According to official figures, electric cars currently account for around 16% of new car sales, with hybrids accounting for about 12% and plug-in hybrids 7%. Combined, that means such cars have accounted for more than a third of sales.

It’s important to note that only new car and van sales will be affected by the ban – you’ll still be able to buy used cars and vans powered solely by petrol or diesel.

In this story, we’ll cover the details of the proposed ban, including how it came about, how it affects car buyers, and whether you should still consider buying a new petrol or diesel car in 2023.

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Electric car charging costs

September 7, 2023Charging, Charging, Electric Cars, News, Reviews and CommentRepost

The impending ban on the sale of brand new petrol and diesel-powered cars due in 2030 may already have you thinking about switching to an electric vehicle (EV) or plug-in hybrid (PHEV) in the near future. But how much do EVs cost to charge in the UK and how much could you save by making the switch to an electric car now?

There are many ways to charge an electric car and the cost will vary depending on your choice of energy provider and your tariff. Other influencing factors on EV charging costs include the speed and power of the charger, and the size of the vehicle’s battery. Here, we take a look at how much it’ll cost you to charge an electric car, plus we delve a little deeper into whether or not it’s cheaper to run an EV than it is a petrol or diesel car.

Group sales of BMW i, BMW iPerformance, and Mini electric have seen dramatic growth

Charging an electric car at home: three-pin plug

While not recommended as such, you can charge your electric car with a conventional three-pin plug at home. It will take a long time because the power from a domestic wall socket is relatively low, so it’s best reserved for emergency charging away from home, and for cars with reasonably modest battery sizes.

The average home electricity rate costs around 30p per kWh (as of August 2023), meaning it would cost you roughly £12 and take 16-17 hours to charge a Nissan Leaf with its 40kWh battery.

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I travelled the UK and Ireland in an electric car, and what a shocker: nothing went wrong

September 6, 2023Away From Home, Charging, Electric Cars, News, Reviews and Comment, OpinionRepost

Despite being an EV convert, fearmongering made me anxious before my holiday. But the summer road trip reaffirmed my faith

When my son suggested a road trip this summer around the UK and Ireland, I wasn’t sure. He wanted to go from our home in Brighton to Manchester, Edinburgh, Belfast, Dublin, Dingle on Ireland’s west coast, Rosslare on Ireland’s east coast, and Cardiff. We worked out a route and looked at booking hotels, a treehouse, a campervan and a lighthouse; we’d visit friends and family; and we’d explore the capital cities of four nations – it sounded amazing. The only problem was that we’d be doing it in our electric car – and it holds less than 100 miles’ worth of charge.

Nissan e-NV200 Winter Camper Concept (Image: Nissan)

I’m a convert, but even I was affected by the fearmongering that haunts the electric vehicle market. A relentless campaign in the rightwing media against government plans to ban the sale of new petrol and diesel cars in 2030 reflects the views of an increasingly desperate fossil fuels lobby, and I had read story after story about a lack of working chargers in the UK. I took out a second breakdown policy when I realised that mine covered only one callout in any 28-day period. I expected an adventure, and to come back with tales to tell, like running out of charge halfway up a mountain, or making friends for life with a random farmer as the car took all night to charge on their three-point socket.

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Jaguar Land Rover to reuse its car batteries to store national grid power

September 5, 2023Energy Storage, Jaguar Land Rover, News, Reviews and Comment, OpinionRepost

The UK’s largest carmaker has announced plans to use old car batteries to store energy the national grid can’t use and return it to the network at peak times.

Jaguar Land Rover (JLR) is turning its used car batteries into what it says will be one of the largest energy storage systems in the UK.

Battery storage can be used to hold excess power during off peak times, when there’s a mismatch between supply of electricity (from wind farms, for example), and demand for energy.

That power can then be released and fed back into the grid when needed.

The JLR battery scheme aims to supply enough batteries to power 750 homes for a day, equivalent to 7.5 megawatt hours of energy, by the end of this year.

Electric car batteries can be reused, JLR said, due to the high standards they meet, meaning they can be used again when they fall below the “stringent” requirements of an electric vehicle.

Typically they’re left with 70% to 80% residual capacity.

The batteries will be stored in containers across the Chelveston renewable energy park in Northamptonshire

Jaguar I-PACE Electric Car (Image: T. Larkum)

And there’s scope to grow the programme as more containers can be created to house additional used batteries from vehicles in the future, JLR said.

Used batteries could be utilised even further in years to come, JLR added.

Used battery supply for energy storage could exceed 200 gigawatt-hours per year by 2030, creating a global value over $30bn (£23.5bn), according to a 2019 McKinsey report.

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Best 7-seat electric cars to buy 2023

September 4, 2023Citroen, e-NV200, Electric Vans, Hyundai, Mercedes, Model X, News, Reviews and Comment, Nissan, Peugeot, TeslaRepost

Looking for a large, electric car with seven seats? We’ve listed the best options currently available

Electric car buyers in the UK have more choice than ever before. With the number and variety of different electric cars for sale continuing to rapidly expand, there’s an EV out there to suit almost any requirements. That includes those of buyers with big families looking for 7-seat electric cars or businesses who need a six or seven-seat vehicle to transport staff and clients.

To comfortably carry six or seven adults and some amount of luggage, you’re going to need a large vehicle and so the available options for buyers seeking a seven-seater that runs on electric power mainly boil down to larger SUVs or MPVs. Lots of the electric MPVs on today’s market are based on commercial vehicles and offer huge amounts of space as a result, while the SUVs tend to be a little less roomy in the third row but tend to deliver a more premium feel in terms of the cabin environment and driving experience.

Electric seven-seaters make a lot of sense for those who make a lot of short trips such as commuting or doing the school run, as this is where the lower running costs, zero-tailpipe emissions and quieter ride can really pay off, especially in congested or urban environments.

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The best new electric cars for every budget 2023

September 1, 2023Buying/Leasing, Citroen, Cost of ownership, Electric Cars, News, Reviews and Comment, TeslaRepost

As 2023 progresses, the electric car market continues to grow and evolve. More zero-emission options are available than ever before as brands continue their efforts to swap fossil-fuel cars for battery-powered alternatives.

EV sales are still steadily growing, with 176,000 new electric cars cars finding homes in the first seven months of this year – a 38% increase over the same period last year. One electric car sits in the annual top ten best-sellers list as of August 2023, with more than 21,000 Tesla Model Y SUVs have been sold in the UK since the turn of the year.

The last year has seen the introduction of several competitively-priced electric models, but with the retirement of the Smart EQ ForTwo and EQ ForFour hatchbacks there are now no electric cars available for below £25k. You can get a pint-sized Citroën Ami for around £8k, but that’s a quadricycle that does not come with airbags and is illegal to drive on the motorway.

Now starting with new models available for under £30k, we’ve analysed all the electric cars available at key price points in the new car market, and consulted our industry-leading Expert Rating Index to see which models have the highest review scores from across the UK motoring media.

With comprehensive review data backing our recommendations, you can be confident that this is the definitive guide to the best new electric cars for every budget that are on sale in the UK right now.

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Used EV sales soared by 81.8% YOY in Q2 2023, says SMMT

August 31, 2023Buying a new car, Charging, Cost of ownership, Electric Cars, News, Reviews and Comment, NissanRepost

Used electric vehicle (EV) sales soared in Q2 2023 by 81.8% year-on-year (YOY), research by the Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders (SMMT) has revealed.

This means that used EV sales accounted for a record 1.7% market share and is up by 1% YOY. In total, 30,645 EVs changed hands in Q2 2023.

SMMT also stated that the rising proportion of EVs meant that market share for conventionally powered cars marginally fell to 94.3% from 95.7% last year, even though volumes of petrol and diesel cars saw growth of 2.5% and 2.8% respectively.

Mike Hawes, chief executive of SMMT, said: “It’s great to see a recharged new car sector supporting demand for used cars and, in particular, helping more people to get behind the wheel of an electric vehicle.

“Meeting the undoubted appetite for pre-owned EVs will depend on sustaining a buoyant new car market and on the provision of accessible, reliable charging infrastructure powered by affordable, green energy. This, in turn, will allow more people to drive zero at a price point suited to them, helping accelerate delivery of our environmental goals.”

These statistics for second-hand EV sales come as Octopus EV, part of Octopus Energy Group, recently committed to offer a second-hand salary sacrifice scheme for EVs in a bid to spur growth.

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Blow for Putin and MBS as oil demand set to slow

August 30, 2023Economy, Electric Cars, Electric Motorhomes, Electric Taxis, Electric Vans, News, Reviews and Comment, Oil, OpinionRepost

Growth forecasts for global oil demand next year have been downgraded as the post-pandemic recovery stalls just as electric vehicle (EV) use surges.

The International Energy Agency (IEA) said on Friday that demand will rise by only one million barrels per day (bpd) in 2024, which is 150,000 bpd less than previously forecast.

This will be a blow to both Russian President Vladimir Putin, who is using oil and gas revenues to fund his war in Ukraine, and Saudi Arabia’s Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, whose oil profits are driving the country’s economic diversification.

The IEA said: “With the post-pandemic rebound running out of steam, and as lacklustre economic conditions, tighter efficiency standards, and new electric vehicles weigh on use, growth is forecast to slow to 1m bpd in 2024.”

The Paris-based energy watchdog has forecast that 14 million electric vehicles will be sold by the end of 2023, a 35pc surge compared to 2022.

By 2030, it expects EV use will be displacing five million barrels of oil per day.

But for now, world oil demand is still hitting record highs following China’s post-pandemic reopening and a rebound in global air travel.

In June, demand hit an all-time peak of 103m bpd. The IEA said August demand could surpass this level.

The IEA said global oil demand will jump by 2.2m bpd to hit 102.2m bpd in 2022, with China driving more than 70pc of this growth.

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Second-hand electric vehicle sales soar to record levels

August 29, 2023Buying/Leasing, Charging, Electric Cars, Kia, News, Reviews and CommentRepost

Boosting the second-hand market is crucial to increasing the reach and affordability of electric vehicles, however, the sales accounted for 1.7% of the total used car market.

Sales of second-hand electric vehicles (EV) rose by more than 80% in the three months to June, indicating increasing demand for more affordable zero and low-emission cars.

More than 30,500 of the battery-powered vehicles changed hands in the second quarter this year, an 81.8% rise on the same period last year.

Those sales accounted for just 1.7% of the total second-hand market, which while a record for the sector, demonstrates the scale of the adjustment required in the UK’s vehicle fleet before a ban on new internal combustion engine (ICE) vehicles in 2030.

Low-emission plug-in and hybrid vehicles are also growing in popularity in the used market, with sales up 11% and 30% respectively, according to figures from the Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders (SMMT).

The market share of petrol and diesel vehicles fell as a result of the growth in electric car sales, but still accounted for almost 95% of 1.8m used vehicles sold in the quarter.

Boosting the second-hand market is crucial to increasing the reach and affordability of electric vehicles, which are still significantly more expensive to buy than ICE models.

Second-hand EV prices have been dropping in the last year however, with data company Cap hpi estimating a 35% fall in 12 months.

The EV market has expanded rapidly in recent years, with more than 260,000 new electric cars registered last year, up from 15,000 in 2018.

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Can I save money with an electric car?

August 28, 2023BP Chargemaster, Charging, Charging, Cost of ownership, Electric Cars, News, Reviews and Comment, Nissan, Shell, TeslaRepost

Electric vehicles are increasing in popularity but with the price of energy high, is it still cheaper to run an electric car than it is a petrol or diesel one? Here we weigh up the cost of going green.

By 2030, the sale of new petrol and diesel cars is to be banned in the UK. Despite EVs making up more than half of all new cars sold, concerns remain around cost, range and whether the infrastructure is ready to achieve this target.

From April 2025 EVs will no longer be free from paying road tax. The removal of government grants, a higher list price than petrol and diesel, and the rising cost of refueling has left many wondering if making the switch to electric is financially worth it?

This article covers:

Related content: How to save money by going green

Are electric cars cheaper to buy than petrol cars?

Whether an electric car is more economical for you in the long run than an conventional fuel car, you need to consider a number of factors, which include:

the upfront list price
how much you intend to use the car
where you intend to charge it
insurance
maintenance costs

It’s Time to Go Green!

If you would like to know more about Solar Panels and the PowerBanx range of home battery systems, and get a free instant quote, please complete our online form: